"Civil War Voices" a musical remembrance by James R. Harris will be performed at the June Havoc Theatre at the Abingdon Complex, 312 West 36th Street. Featuring the songs of the period with arrangements by Mark Hayes and it is directed by Dennis Courtney. The musical director is Laura Bergquist. Alma Villegas, Bob Ost / Wildly Productive Productions and Rough and Ready Productions in association with the Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival are presenting the musical that features a cast of ten. (90 mins) www.civilwarvoices.com
Civil War Voices tells the compelling and passionate true stories of five individuals who lived through the conflict, using their actual words that were left behind in diaries, letters, and other writings. Joe Harris was a cotton planter from Alabama with a conflicted conscious. The discovery of his Civil War diary inspired the play. Elizabeth Keckley was born a slave, bought her freedom, and became Mary Todd Lincoln's closest friend and personal assistant in the White House. Theo and Harriet Perry were a young, married couple from Texas, who were separated by the war. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was a college professor from Maine, who enlisted to fight for the Union. Through the lives and words of these individuals, the struggles, hardships and sacrifices of Americans become understandable and real as the Civil War progresses.
All new arrangements of traditional melodies of the period by Mark Hayes advance the narrative and sharpen the emotional impact of the stories. The extraordinary music of the period reveals the emotions behind the conflict. The show contains some of the greatest songs of the period such as ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic', ‘Amazing Grace', and ‘Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child', just to name a few.
Jim Harris (writer) is a trial lawyer by profession, but his avocation and great love is musical theater. He has performed in some 50 musical productions and is also an accomplished singer. Several years ago, Jim discovered the existence of a diary kept by his great-great uncle during the Civil War. After giving several speeches about the diary, he began combining other true stories of the war with original, unique arrangements of the stirring music of the period.
Dennis Courtney (Director) staged a re?envisioned production of Fiddler On The Roof in Tel Aviv as the official production for the 60th Anniversary of Israel, for which he won the 2009 Israeli National Theatre Award. He has also won numerous awards as the director/choreographer of over 150 stage productions including Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby, Can?Can with Leslie Uggams, the regional premieres of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, the world premiere productions of Ethel Waters: His Eye Is On The Sparrow, and many original music revues. Mr. Courtney has conceived and staged many special events, award shows and cruise ship shows, working with such performers as Bette Midler, Celine Dion, Quincy Jones, Warren Beatty, Carol Channing, John Raitt, The Bacon Brothers, Steven Cojocaru, David Hasselhoff, Edward James Olmos, Peter Marshall and Helen Reddy. On television, Mr. Courtney directed the 5th season opener of TV's "Perfect Strangers".
